In 1973, the United Kingdom(UK) voted to join the European Economic Community, but over the last 43 years this organisation developed in to the European Community and then the European Union (EU), with an ever greater control over the affairs of the member countries.

On the 23rd June 2016, the UK people voted to end the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union. There are many complex reasons for the decision, but many UK people believe that the benefits provided by EU membership are outweighed by the loss of democratic control to an unelected body based outside our Country.

The decision to exit the EU has created some upset within the UK political system. Having campaigned to remain in the EU our Prime Minister has chosen to resign so that a new PM can negotiate exit with our European partners. The UK is the World’s oldest and most stable democracy with a sound and business friendly legal system, and will continue to be a favoured destination for international businesses. The process to elect a new Prime Minister has already started.

The UK is the World’s fifth biggest economy and has always been a driving force in International trade, the decision to leave the EU does not change this.

For customers within the European Union

The process by which the UK can leave the EU is defined in law (Article 50), and will take at least 2 years to complete. During this period business with all European Countries will remain unchanged, and afterwards the EU and UK will remain closely connected trading partners and our politician’s must negotiate a mutually beneficial trading relationship.

For customers outside the European Union

The EU represents 28 European countries and for this reason it has had little success in negotiating International trade deals. The decision to exit the EU means the United Kingdom is free to negotiate trade deals independently and this will ease trading terms for Fairford and its many overseas customers.

The decision to leave the EU is largely political and does not change the commercial relationship with any of our customers. The key points are:-

Fairford has a range of innovative and competitive motor control products, great people and valuable customer relationships.

All current and future products will be designed and maintained to meet all relevant international standards such as CE, UL, CCC, IEC.

The UK will be in a position to negotiate independent trade deals, reducing tariffs and duties for both the export of goods and the import of raw materials.